Earlier this month a teenage girl in Gaza died while undergoing an “exorcism” ritual; exorcism is widespread in Gaza, and despite the fact that most clinics are not authorized, authorities do often not actively pursue the so-called sheikhs responsible for injuries and even death as a result of exorcism.

This shocking picture of thousands of men and women lining up for aid in Palestinian refugee camp Yarmouk in Damascus, Syria has been taken on January 31, but was just released this week. Image by UNRWA

The armed group of Abu Sayyaf on the island of Solo, southern Philippines have released two female film making sisters after eight months of captivity. The sisters, Nadjoua and Linda Bansil, have said that they will continue to making movies on marginalised communities.

According to activists the lack of knowledge about sex by most Kyrgyz puts women at risk for domestic violence, and while talking about sexuality is still discouraged, one “sex school” hopes to change that.

At least one case of gender-based violence is being reported daily on the island of Zanzibar, Tanzania, which indicates an vast increase, but most cases never make it to court.

Mukhazhar Dzhabrailova is a survivor of the 1944 deportations, when the entire population of Chechen and Ingush people were moved to Kazakhstan (predominantly) and she shares her horrific experiences; she lost all her family as a result of the deportation.

The family of Joumana Hmeid is stunned to find out that she has been arrested on terrorist charges, allegedly having ties with Al-Qaeda; Joumana Hmeid is Lebanon’s first female terror suspect.

Qantara.de interviews Belkis Baharcieva about her work as a fashion designer in Germany and why she chose to focus on so-called Islamic clothing.

Dance is officially forbidden in Iran, but ballet has become so popular in the country that the Iranian Gymnastics Federation refers to it as the “sport of ballet.” As such, ballet is tolerated, but it is difficult for students to find proper training or hold performances.

A network of women in Mindanao, Philippines have launched the Women’s Peace Table (WPT) to ensure that women are heard in peace process between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).